2873rd Council meetingJustice and Home
AffairsLuxembourg, 5-6 June 2008

President Mr Dragutin MATEMinister of the Interior of
SloveniaDrLovro ŠturmMinister of Justice of
Slovenia

Main results of the Council

The Council expressed its support for an overall compromise on the
proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on common
standards and procedures in Member States for returning illegally staying
third-country nationals (the "Return Directive").

It also reached a general approach on a decision laying down the
necessary administrative and technical provisions for the implementation of a
decision on the stepping up of cross-border cooperation, particularly in
combating terrorism and cross-border crime (the "Prüm decision").

Regarding counter-terrorism, the Council shared the views of the EU
counter-terrorism coordinator on his proposals to concentrate work in the coming
months on the prevention of radicalisation and on the identification of
technical assistance to Northern Africa/Sahel and Pakistan.

Furthermore, the Council reached a general approach on a draft agreement
between the European Union and Australia on the processing and transfer of
EU-sourced passenger name record (PNR) data to the Australian Customs Service,
and on a draft Framework Decision on enhancing the procedural rights of persons
and fostering the application of the principle of mutual recognition in respect
of decisions rendered in the absence of the person at the trial (trials "in
absentia").

The Council also reached a general approach on a draft Framework
Decision on enhancing the procedural rights of persons and fostering the
application of the principle of mutual recognition in respect of decisions
rendered in the absence of the person at the trial (trials "in
absentia").

It was also informed by the Presidency of a first reading agreement -
reached on 21 May 2008 - with the European Parliament on a proposal for a
directive on the protection of the environment through criminal law.

Finally, it agreed on the complete abolition of exequatur for the
recognition and enforcement of decisions in matters relating to maintenance
obligations.

CONTENTS1

PARTICIPANTS 6

ITEMS DEBATED

MIXED COMMITTEE 8

Schengen Information System (SIS) 8

Return of illegally staying third-country nationals 8

Other business 8

CIVIL LAW

The Hague Convention of 1996 on the international protection of
children 25

Baroness ASHTON of UPHOLLAND Leader of the House of Lords and Lord President
of the Council

Mr Frank MULHOLLAND Solicitor General, Scottish Government

Ms Meg HILLIER Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Home Office

Commission:

Mr Jacques BARROT Vice-President

ITEMS DEBATED

MIXED COMMITTEE

In the margins of the Council, the Mixed Committee (UE, Norway, Iceland,
Liechtenstein and Switzerland) met on Thursday 5 June 2008 at 10.00 with a view
to discussing the following items:

Schengen Information System (SIS)

The Mixed Committee took note of the current state of play and of a new
schedule for implementing the second generation of SIS (SIS II).

In accordance with the schedule, migration from SIS1+ to SIS II is planned
for September 2009.

The schedule was afterwards adopted by the Council without discussion (see
page 21).

Return of illegally staying third-country
nationals

The Mixed Committee expressed support for an overall compromise on the
proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on common
standards and procedures in member states for returning illegally staying
third-country nationals, the "Return directive" (see also page 9).

Other business

The Mixed Committee took note of a common letter of the Minister of Foreign
Affairs of Hungary, Poland and the Slovak Republic on the state of
implementation of regulation 1931/2006 local border traffic .

The Greek delegation gave additional information concerning the difficulties
that Greece was facing as a result of illegal immigration and how they were
dealing with asylum applications.

RETURN OF ILLEGALLY STAYING THIRD-COUNTRY
NATIONALS

The Council confirmed the support given by the Mixed Committee to an overall
compromise on the proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the
Council on common standards and procedures in Member States for returning
illegally staying third-country nationals (the "Return Directive").

The Presidency will inform the Parliament about the content of this
compromise. The Council hopes that a first reading agreement with the European
Parliament will be possible on this basis.

Background

This Directive will establish a common set of rules applicable to
third-country nationals staying illegally in the territory of Member States,
irrespective of which Member State. The Directive will ensure a more harmonised
and effective approach to return procedures on the part of Member States while
respecting the rights of third-country nationals in an illegal situation.

The Directive stems from the need to have common rules on returns as a result
of the development of Europe as an area without internal borders and with a
common immigration policy.

The Directive will leave unaffected the procedural and substantive safeguards
for asylum seekers, which are dealt with in another Directive.

The Directive makes special provision for vulnerable persons including, in
particular, unaccompanied minors.

Other important features of the Directive include the following:

The ending of the illegal stay of non-EU nationals will be carried out
through a fair and transparent procedure which sets out the rights for illegally
staying persons facing return.

The decisions taken under this Directive will be adopted on a case-by-case
basis and will be based on objective criteria.

The Directive provides for a return decision to be issued for any
third-country national staying illegally in the territory of a Member State,
subject to certain exceptions (e.g. where an autonomous residence permit or
other authorisation to stay is granted for compassionate, humanitarian or other
reasons).

The return decision will impose an obligation on the third-country national
staying illegally to leave the territory of the Member State concerned. Persons
to whom a return decision has been issued will be allowed the opportunity to
leave voluntarily unless there are specific grounds which preclude the granting
of such a period, such as the risk that the third-county national concerned will
abscond.

Detention will only be permitted where other less coercive measures cannot be
applied in the case and will require a decision in writing with reasons in fact
and in law. Detention will be for as short a period as possible and only
maintained as long as removal arrangements are in progress. It will be subject
to reviews by a judicial authority at reasonable intervals.

The maximum period of detention will be limited to six months (with the
possibility of extending it for a further twelve-month period in specified
circumstances, e.g. lack of cooperation by the third-country national). When it
appears that a reasonable prospect of removal no longer exists, detention will
cease to be justified and the person concerned will be released.

Detention will be carried out as a rule in specialised detention
facilities.

The draft Directive deals with key issues in the policy of return such as the
voluntary departure of returnees, the execution of a return decision through a
removal procedure, the postponement of removal, the imposition of entry bans as
an accompanying measure to a return decision, the form of the return decision,
the remedies against a return decision and the safeguards for a returnee pending
return, the possibility of an accelerated procedure for return in certain cases
and the detention of returnees and its conditions.

This proposal was submitted by the Commission in 2005 and has been examined
at length, under successive presidencies. It is to be adopted in co-decision
with the European Parliament.

EXTENSION OF LONG-TERM RESIDENT STATUS TO
BENEFICIARIES OF INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION

The Council held a debate on this proposal which seeks to amend Directive
2003/109/EC with a view to extending the possibility of obtaining long-term
resident status to beneficiaries of international protection.

The debate focused on the scope of the Directive. A majority of delegations
could support the inclusion of both refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary
protection in the scope of the directive, without any difference of treatment
between the categories. But some delegations argued for a broader scope of the
directive to include other forms of protection granted by member states, while
others were in favour of limiting the scope to refugees only.

The Presidency, noting that the necessary unanimity to adopt the directive
could not be obtained today, concluded that the negotiations on this file should
continue under the French Presidency.

Council Directive 2003/109/EC determines the status of third-country
nationals who are long-term residents (residing more than 5 years in a member
state). At the time of adoption of that directive, the Council welcomed the
Commission commitment to follow it up with a proposal for the extension of
long-term resident status to refugees and persons benefiting from subsidiary
protection. The new Commission proposal, presented in June 2007, fulfils that
commitment.

RESETTLEMENT OF THE REFUGEES FROM
IRAQ

At the initiative of the German delegation, the Council held an exchange of
views on the resettlement of refugees from Iraq in the European Union. The
Council expressed concern about the humanitarian situation of displaced persons
inside Iraq and Iraqi refugees in neighbouring countries while acknowledging the
heavy burden being placed on those countries.

Ministers underlined that protection should continue to be provided primarily
in the region itself in order to facilitate the return of refugees and
internally displaced persons to their homes. They welcomed the contributions
which Member States are already providing by giving financial assistance to the
region, by hosting asylum seekers and refugees from Iraq and by resettling
refugees under national programmes. In particular, Member States were encouraged
to increase or create, on a voluntary basis, resettlement opportunities for
vulnerable persons from Iraq in need of protection.

Member States were asked to cooperate with UNHCR and other relevant
organisations and actors in the region in the implementation of resettlement.
The Commission was invited to examine the possibilities for the resettlement of
Iraqi refugees to be funded under existing programmes.

The Council noted that many Member States expressed their readiness to offer
or to further explore resettlement opportunities for Iraqi refugees. The Council
will continue the discussion on this issue under the French Presidency.

STEPPING UP COOPERATION FOR PURPOSES OF
PREVENTION AND INVESTIGATION OF CRIMINAL OFFENCES

The Council reached a general approach on a decision laying down the
necessary administrative and technical provisions for the implementation of a
decision on the stepping up of cross-border cooperation, particularly in
combating terrorism and cross-border crime (the "Prüm decision").

The "Prüm decision", agreed by the Council in June 2007, is designed to
improve the exchange of information between the authorities responsible for the
prevention and investigation of criminal offences.

To this end, the decision contains rules in the following areas:

on the conditions and procedure for the automated transfer of DNA profiles,
dactyloscopic data and certain national vehicle registration data,

on the conditions for the supply of data in connection with major events
with a cross-border dimension,

on the conditions for the supply of information in order to prevent
terrorist offences, and

on the conditions and procedure for stepping up cross-border police
cooperation through various measures.

The implementing decision
establishes those common provisions which are indispensable for administrative
and technical implementation of the forms of cooperation set out in the
Prüm decision, especially for automated exchange of DNA data, dactyloscopic
data and vehicle registration data.

TERRORISM - REPORT BY THE EU
COUNTER-TERRORISM COORDINATOR

The Council held a debate on counter-terrorism on the basis of a report
presented by the EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator (CTC), Mr Gilles de
Kerchove.

The Council appreciated the analysis made by the CTC and shared his views on
the proposals that he made to concentrate work in the coming months on the
prevention of radicalisation and on the identification of technical assistance
to Northern Africa/Sahel and Pakistan.

The Council also invited the Commission to present as soon as possible the
communication it had announced concerning radicalisation.

The EU CTC's report, which is a response to the European Council's request
for a report every six months, summarises progress since December 2007 and the
state of play regarding ratification of the conventions and implementation of
the legislative acts regarded as having priority (9416/1/08).

The CTC's priorities for further action in the field of EU counter-terrorism
are set up in 9417/08 and relate, in particular, to information-sharing, the
issue of radicalisation, and technical assistance to non-EU countries.

In December 2005 the European Council adopted the European Counter-Terrorism
Strategy, which has provided the framework for EU activity in this
field.[1] The strategic
commitment of the Union is to combat terrorism globally while respecting human
rights, and to make Europe safer, allowing its citizens to live in an area of
freedom, security and justice. The Strategy groups all actions under four
headings - PREVENT, PROTECT, PURSUE, RESPOND. The Revised Action Plan follows
this pattern, with the objective of setting out clearly what the EU is trying to
achieve and the means by which it intends to do so.

AGREEMENT WITH AUSTRALIA ON TRANSFER OF
PASSENGER NAME RECORD

Pending the lifting of a Parliamentary reservation, the Council reached a
general approach on a draft agreement between the European Union and Australia
on the processing and transfer of EU-sourced passenger name record (PNR) data to
the Australian Customs Service (9127/2/08).

On 28 February 2008 the Council decided to authorise the Presidency, assisted
by the Commission, to open negotiations for this agreement. Those negotiations
have been successful and a draft agreement has been drawn up.

The agreement contains detailed assurances for the protection of PNR data
transferred from the EU concerning passenger flights to or from Australia.

Australia and the EU will periodically review the implementation of the
agreement, so as to allow them, in the light of such a review, to take any
action deemed necessary.

PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT THROUGH
CRIMINAL LAW

The Presidency informed the Council of a first reading agreement reached on
21 May 2008 with the European Parliament on a proposal for a directive on the
protection of the environment through criminal law.

Once formally adopted by both Institutions, the Directive will establish a
minimum set of conducts that should be considered criminal offences throughout
the EU when unlawful and committed intentionally or with at least serious
negligence. The inciting, aiding and abetting of such conduct will also be
considered a criminal offence.

Those conducts are:

- the discharge, emission or introduction of materials or ionising radiation
into air, soil or water, which causes or is likely to cause death or serious
injury to any person or substantial damage to the environment (quality of air,
quality of soil, quality of water, animals or plants);

- the collection, transport, recovery and disposal of waste, which causes or
is likely to cause death or serious injury to any person or substantial damage
to the environment;

- the shipment of waste, whether executed in a single shipment or in several
shipments which appear to be linked;

- the operation of a plant in which a dangerous activity is carried out or in
which dangerous substances or preparations are stored or used and which, outside
the plant, causes or is likely to cause death or serious injury to any person or
substantial damage to the environment;

- the production, processing, handling, use, holding, storage, transport,
import, export and disposal of nuclear materials or other hazardous radioactive
substances which causes or is likely to cause death or serious injury to any
person or substantial damage to the environment;

- the killing, destruction , possession, taking and trading of specimens of
protected wild fauna or flora species, except for cases when the conduct
concerns a negligible quantity of such specimens and has a negligible impact on
the conservation status of the species;

- any conduct which causes the significant deterioration of a habitat within
a protected site;

- production, importation, exportation, placing on the market or use of
ozone-depleting substances.

Each Member State will take the necessary measures to ensure that these
offences are punishable by effective, proportionate and dissuasive criminal
penalties.

The Council took note of the state of play regarding a proposal for a
Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive
2005/35/EC on ship-source pollution and on the introduction of penalties for
infringements.

In the aftermath of major accidental oil spills and the increasing
uncontrolled operational discharges of polluting substances from ships at sea,
the Commission proposed in 2003 a Directive providing that ship-source pollution
should be considered a criminal offence and consequently should be subject to
criminal penalties. The Commission also proposed a Framework decision providing
for the approximation of the levels of criminal penalties for the ship-source
pollution criminal offences.

These two instruments were adopted by the Council in 2005. But the Court of
Justice annulled the abovementioned Framework Decision in 2007 considering that
it was adopted by the Council on a wrong legal basis.

The Commission therefore proposed in March 2008 a new Directive with a view
to filling the legal vacuum created by the annulment by the Court. The
examination of the proposed Directive started under the Slovenian Presidency and
will continue under successive Presidencies.

HIGHER STANDARDS FOR DECISIONS RENDERED IN
ABSENTIA

The Council reached a general approach on a draft Framework Decision on
enhancing the procedural rights of persons and fostering the application of the
principle of mutual recognition in respect of decisions rendered in the absence
of the person at the trial (trials "in absentia").

The Framework Decision means that Member States should enforce each others'
judgments with even greater confidence that proper safeguards are in place for
defendants who were convicted in their absence. Differences in approach across
the European Union have been creating a degree of uncertainty and delay in such
cases. The Framework Decision aims to addressing these problems, while fully
respecting the persons' rights of defence.

The agreement includes a clear requirement to guarantee a right to a retrial
or appeal when the defendant was not properly informed about the original trial
and had not appointed a lawyer to represent him or her.

In order to achieve its aims, the Framework Decision proceeds by modifying
existing instruments on mutual recognition (Framework Decisions on the European
arrest warrant, on financial penalties, on confiscation orders, on transfer of
sentenced persons, and on the supervision of probation measures and alternative
sanctions). The new provisions should also serve as a basis for future
instruments in this field.

The initiative for a Framework Decision on "in absentia" was presented on 11
January 2008 by Slovenia, France, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Slovakia, the
United Kingdom and Germany.

EUROJUST

The Council, subject to further discussions on one issue, agreed on a
compromise package on certain articles of a draft Decision on the strengthening
of Eurojust.

The agreement related to articles concerning a 24/7 on-call coordination, the
exercise of powers of national members of Eurojust, Eurojust national
coordination system and the transmission of information to Eurojust.

At its meeting on 18 April 2008, the JHA Council had already reached a
general approach on some other articles relating to Eurojust's composition,
tasks, the status of its national members and staff.

This proposal for reinforcing Eurojust was submitted on January 2008 by
Slovenia, France, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Spain, Belgium, Poland, Italy,
Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Estonia, Austria and Portugal.

MAINTENANCE OBLIGATIONS

The Council agreed a set of political guidelines concerning a proposal for a
Regulation on jurisdiction, applicable laws, recognition and enforcement of
decisions and cooperation in matters relating to maintenance obligations.

The six elements of the guidelines agreed refer to the scope, jurisdiction,
applicable law, recognition and enforceability, enforcement and a review clause.
In particular, the Council agreed on the principal goal of the Regulation, which
is the complete abolition of exequatur on the basis of harmonised applicable law
rules.

The aim of the proposal is to eliminate all obstacles which still prevent the
recovery of maintenance within the European Union, in particular the requirement
of exequatur procedure. By abolishing this procedure all decisions on
maintenance obligations would be allowed to circulate freely between the Member
States without any form of control on the substance in the Member State of
enforcement and this would significantly speed up the recovery of maintenance
owed. This will enable the creation of a legal environment adapted to the
legitimate expectations of the maintenance creditors. The latter should be able
to obtain easily, quickly and, generally, free of charge, an enforcement order
capable of circulation without obstacles in the European area of justice and
enabling regular payment of the amounts due.

The Council had a debate on a proposal for a Council Regulation on rules
concerning applicable law in matrimonial matters (Rome III).

A large majority of Member States supported the objectives of this proposal
for a Council Regulation. Therefore, and owing to the fact that the unanimity
required to adopt the Regulation could not be obtained, the Council established
that the objectives of Rome III could not be attained within a reasonable period
by applying the relevant provisions of the Treaties. Work should continue with a
view to examining the conditions and implications of possibly establishing
enhanced cooperation between Member States.

The purpose of this Regulation is to provide a clear and comprehensive legal
framework, covering both jurisdiction as well as applicable law rules in
matrimonial matters, and allowing the parties a certain degree of autonomy in
choosing the competent court and applicable law in case of divorce and legal
separation.

Spouses would be allowed to choose a competent court or the law applicable to
divorce. In the absence of a choice of law by the spouses, the text would
introduce conflict-of-law rules. According to the proposal, there is a cascade
of connecting factors: the divorce is governed by the law of the country of
habitual residence of both spouses, failing that, by the law of the last
habitual residence of the spouses if one of them still resides there; failing
that, the law of the common nationality of the spouses or, failing that, by the
law of the forum. The conflict-of-law rules of the proposal aim at ensuring
that, wherever the spouses lodge their request for divorce, the courts of any
Member State would normally apply the same substantive law, (therefore avoiding
"forum shopping").

E-JUSTICE

The Council took note of a report on progress made during the Slovenian
Presidency on e-justice.The report describes the work done on issues such as
a prototype for a European e-justice portal, its content, videoconferencing, or
getting access to electronic registers.

It also describes priorities for further work, such as:

- introducing additional sets of content to the e-Justice portal in
particular relating to legal aid, mediation and translation;

- continuing the creation of conditions for the networking of insolvency
registers and to the extent possible discussing the possibilities to create the
conditions for the networking of commercial and business registers and land
registers;

- giving all the necessary technical assistance to facilitate the networking
of criminal records;

- finalising technical preparations for the use of IT for the European
payment order procedure, in full compliance with Regulation (EC) No 1896/2006,
by the end of November 2008;

- facilitating the use of video-conferencing technology for communication in
cross-border proceedings, in particular for the taking of evidence and
interpretation;

- completing technical work by the end of December 2008 on the concept of
authentication and securisation in the context of the portal and continuing
technical work on interoperability and standardisation.

The working party on legal data processing will, in the light of the
Commission's Communication of 30 May 2008, work on aspects relating to the
creation of a coordination and management structure capable of developing
multiple projects on a large scale and within a reasonable timeframe in the
field of e-justice, and will launch discussions on the establishment of a
multi-annual work programme.

EXTERNAL DIMENSION OF JUSTICE AND HOME
AFFAIRS (JHA)

The Council took note of the progress made regarding the implementation of
the strategy for the external dimension of JHA.

This strategy, adopted by the Council in December 2005, can be seen as one of
the practical expressions of the wider European Security Strategy adopted by the
European Council in 2003. It aims at both setting thematic priorities,
clarifying underlying principles, reviewing mechanisms and tools and presenting
EU structures and processes which are involved in the field of JHA-RELEX
policies.

The Strategy states that "the Commission and Council Secretariat will
systematically monitor the progress of JHA external activity and report to the
JHA Council and GAERC every 18 months". An early progress report was issued in
November 2006, which provided a valuable assessment of the Strategy's
implementation. With the Strategy's new reporting due in June 2008, the time has
come to carry out a second evaluation.

The second progress reports focus on implementation efforts in 2007 and the
first half of 2008 as regards thematic and geographical priorities and call the
attention of the Council to areas, where more work might be done, in particular:
taking forward civil law cooperation, coping with data protection requirements,
improving existing cooperation, establishing new partnerships and designing more
effective instruments.

The Hague Convention of 1996 on the international protection of
children

The Council adopted a decision authorising Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Greece,
Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria,
Poland, Portugal, Romania, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom to ratify, or
accede to, in the interest of the European Community, the 1996 Hague Convention
on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law, Recognition, Enforcement and Cooperation in
respect of parental responsibility and measures for the protection of children
(7573/08).

The decision also authorises certain member states to make a declaration on
the application of the relevant internal rules of Community law.

Judicial cooperation in civil matters -
External relations strategy

The Council agreed on external relations strategy in the field of judicial
cooperation in civil matters, with the aim of updating the general framework for
the strategy and to ensure its effective implementation.

The document is not a legal framework but rather an evolving process of
defining and achieving policy objectives in full conformity with the provisions
of the EC Treaty.

In the Hague Programme, the European Council called for the development of a
strategy reflecting the Union's special relations with third countries, groups
of countries and regions and focusing on the specific needs for JHA cooperation
with them.

In April 2006 the Council approved a strategy document outlining aspects of
judicial cooperation in civil matters (8140/06). As indicated in this document,
the development of an area of freedom, security and justice can only be
successful if it is underpinned by a partnership with third countries on these
issues which includes strengthening the rule of law and promoting respect for
human rights and international obligations.

Recognition and enforcement of judgments in
civil and commercial matters

The Council adopted a decision approving the conclusion of the Convention on
jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and
commercial matters, which will replace the Lugano Convention of
16 September 1988 (9196/08).

Contractual obligations in civil and
commercial matters

The Council adopted a Regulation aimed at harmonising conflict-of-law rules
concerning contractual obligations, accepting all the amendments passed by the
European Parliament at first reading (3691/07
and 7689/08
ADD 1).

The new Regulation will replace the 1980 Rome Convention on the law
applicable to contractual obligations, while modernising some of its rules.

In the context of the European judicial area it is important to improve
certainty as to the law applicable, the predictability of the outcome of
litigation and the free movement of judgments. The new Regulation will ensure
that, even though the substantive law of the Member States is different, all
courts of the Member States will apply the same law – be it their own or
that of another EU country – to the contract in question.

The Regulation is based on the principle of party
autonomy, i.e. in most cases the parties are free to choose the law that will
govern their contract. However, in the absence of choice, the Regulation sets
out clear and predictable rules to determine the law applicable to a contract.
Apart from the general regime, it also contains specific conflict-of-law rules
for particular cases such as consumer contracts, contracts of carriage and
individual employment contracts.

The Council took note of the second report on the state of implementation by
member states and EU bodies of the action-oriented paper on improving
cooperation on organised crime, corruption, illegal immigration and
counter-terrorism between the EU, the Western Balkans and relevant European
Neighbourhood Policy countries.

Report on fight against organised
crime

The Council took note of a report on the state of implementation by member
states and EU bodies of EU priorities for the fight against organised crime
based on Europol's 2007 Organised Crime Threat Assessment (OCTA).

The Council sets such priorities every two years. The current priorities
having been decided in June 2007 (7547/3/0) and itwill adopt its
next conclusions on this topic in 2009. Implementation of the priorities,
however, is monitored annually.

Assistance to produce a common threat
assessment on organised crime for South East European region - Council
conclusions

The conclusions can be found in 9731/08.

Application of the European Arrest Warrant -
Evaluation report

The Council took note of a report on the first seven evaluation visits
carried out in Ireland, Denmark, Belgium, Estonia, Spain, Portugal and the
United Kingdom within the framework of the fourth round of mutual evaluations on
the practical application of the European Arrest Warrant and corresponding
surrender procedures between Member States.

It decided to forward it to the European Parliament for information.

CIVIL PROTECTION

European critical infrastructure

The Council reached a political agreement on a directive on the
identification and designation of European Critical Infrastructure (ECI) and the
assessment of the need to improve their protection (9403/08).

The directive establishes the necessary procedure for the identification and
designation of ECI and a common approach to the assessment of the needs to
improve the protection of such infrastructure in order to contribute to the
protection of people. The directive concentrates on the energy and transport
sector and will be reviewed after three years, in order to assess its impact and
the need to include other sectors within its scope, such as the Information and
Communication Technology (ICT) sector.

"European Critical Infrastructure" meansthose assets, systems or
parts thereof located in EU member states which are essential for the
maintenance of vital societal functions, health, safety, security, economic or
social well-being of people (e.g. electricity, gas and oil production, transport
and distribution; telecommunications; agriculture; financial and security
services, etc.), and the disruption or destruction of which would have a
significant impact on at least two EU member states.

Critical infrastructure industries are becoming more and more interdependent
as the economic, technological, and social processes of globalisation intensify.
Therefore, the damage or loss of a piece of infrastructure in one member state
may have negative effects on several others and on the European economy as a
whole. Because of this trans-boundary dimension, an integrated EU-wide approach
would complement and bring an added value to the already existing national
programmes for critical infrastructure protection in place in the member states.

The Council adopted decisions authorising the Commission to open negotiations
for the conclusion of short-stay visa waiver agreements between the European
Community and Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Mauritius, Saint Kitts
and Nevis, and the Seychelles.

EUROPOL

Cooperation between Europol and
Eurojust

The Council adopted the following statement on the cooperation between
Europol and Eurojust:

"The Council urges Europol and Eurojust to prepare amendments to their
cooperation agreement, before the end of 2008, including in particular the
mutual exchange of information necessary for the achievements of the tasks of
Europol and Eurojust and in keeping with their respective legal frameworks.
These amendments should include:

(a) Enhancing the possibility for Eurojust to request Europol to open, in
accordance with the Europol legal framework, an Analytical Work File.

(b) Formalising the circumstances under which :

(i) Europol provides Eurojust with results of Analytical Work Files. This
information should in particular include strategic analysis and results that may
need a judicial follow-up.

(ii) Eurojust participates in AWFs

(c) Formalising the circumstances under which
Eurojust provides Europol with information for the purpose of its AWFs, as well
as other information and advice which may be required for the tasks of
Europol

The Council further decides that a Task Force should be set up by the
Presidency, under its responsibility, to assist Europol and Eurojust in
preparing the abovementioned amendments. The Commission shall form part of the
Task Force. The Presidency shall report on progress on this item to the Article
36 Committee during the French Presidency."

Possible cooperation mechanisms between
civilian ESDP missions and Europol as regards the mutual exchange of information
- Council conclusions

The conclusions can be found in 9657/08.

Budget for 2009 - Financing plan
2009-2013

The Council endorsed the Europol budget for 2009 (7802/08). The
Europol budget for 2009 amounts to EUR 65,4 million (EUR 63,9 million in
2008).

The Council took also note of the Europol financing plan for 2009-2013
(7803/08) and decided to forward it to the European Parliament for
information.

SCHENGEN

SIS II global schedule

The Council adopted the Schengen Information System (SIS) II global schedule
that will allow all sides - Schengen states, non-Schengen states and the
Commission - to prepare their planning for the further development and start of
the operations of the SIS II.

Schengen evaluation - Council
conclusions

The Council adopted the following conclusions:

"The Council of the European Union:

(a) Confirming the Schengen Evaluation Working Party's mandate as laid down
in SCH/ ex-COM (98) 26 def. and striving for a more integrated approach
towards Schengen evaluations;

(b) Welcoming the enlargement of the Schengen area to 24 Member States,
resulting in a vast area stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Baltic
Sea;

(c) Considering the new challenges of the European space in the field of
security and the new threats linked to (the development of) increasing
immigration pressure, organised crime and terrorism;

(d) Reaffirming the need to continue evaluations of Schengen candidate states
prior to their entry into the Schengen area and to render the Schengen
Evaluation Working Party's working methods and activities more efficient as
regards ensuring the correct application of the provisions of the Schengen
acquis by the Member States;

(e) Having regard to the objective of the Hague Programme concerning the new
instrument which is to be proposed by the Commission to supplement the existing
Schengen evaluation mechanism,

Has adopted the following conclusions:

1. The evaluation of Schengen candidate countries shall continue according to
the existing mandate (SCH/ex-COM (98) 26 def.) to ensure that they fulfil all
the necessary conditions prior to the full application of the Schengen
acquis.

2. The evaluation of the correct application by Member States of the Schengen
acquis shall be organised by way of:

"classic" evaluations on a country-by-country basis, starting with those
Member States which have not been evaluated for a number of years and which
require evaluation of all parts of the Schengen acquis;

supplementary thematic and/or regional evaluations involving one or more
Member States or regions based on risk analyses (provided by relevant
stakeholders, such as FRONTEX, EUROPOL, the Member States and the Commission).

3. To this end, an indicative five-year programme of continued
"classic" evaluations of Member States already applying the Schengen acquis
shall be adopted.

4. A supplementary thematic and/or regional evaluation schedule supported by
and reflecting analyses of relevant stakeholders can be adopted as part of the
programme of each Presidency.

5. A full or partial evaluation of Member States' public authorities which
are responsible for the application of the Schengen acquis and which have
undergone a fundamental reorganisation can also be adopted as part of the
Scheval programme of each Presidency.

6. The Multi-Presidency Proposal for a Schengen Evaluation Programme
(6949/3/08), approved by the Schengen Evaluation Working Party, shall
serve as the basis for planning the Working Party's evaluation activities for
the next five-year period. This document can be updated and/or amended depending
on future developments, including developments with regard to the instrument to
be proposed by the Commission to supplement the existing Schengen evaluation
mechanism in accordance with the Hague Programme."

Application of SIS in Switzerland

The Council approved a decision on the application of the provisions of the
Schengen acquis relating to the Schengen Information System (SIS) in
Switzerland (9059/08).

The decision allows for real SIS data to be transferred to Switzerland as
from 9 June 2008, and allows Switzerland to enter data into the SIS and use SIS
data as from 14 August 2008.

The concrete use of data by Switzerland will allow the Council to verify the
correct application of the Schengen acquis provisions relating to the
SIS. This evaluation is scheduled by the end of August or beginning of September
2008.

The lifting of checks at internal borders with Switzerland is planned for the
end of 2008. Until that date, Switzerland is not obliged to refuse entry to its
territory or to expel nationals of third states for whom an SIS alert has been
issued by a member state for the purpose of refusing entry.

According to the agreement concluded by the EU and Switzerland concerning
Switzerland's association with the implementation, application and development
of the Schengen acquis (Council decisions 2004/849/EC and
2004/860/EC), the provisions of the Schengen acquis would only be
applied in Switzerland following a Council decision, after verification that a
satisfactory level of data protection exists.Such a verification took
place in March 2008 and the Council concluded that the necessary conditions had
been fulfilled.

Sirene Manual - declassification

The Council adopted a decision on declassifying Annex 4 of the Sirene Manual
(9481/08).

The Sirene Manual is a set of instructions to operators in the Sirene bureaux
of each member state, which describes in detail the rules and procedures
governing the bilateral or multilateral exchange of supplementary information
required for the implementation of certain provisions of the Schengen
Convention.

MIGRATION AND BORDERS CONTROL

Mobility partnerships with Cape Verde and with
the Republic of Moldova

The Council took note of two joint declarations on mobility partnerships
between the EU and Cape Verde (9460/08 ADD2) and between the EU and the
Republic of Moldova (9460/08 ADD1+COR1).

The two joint declarations were signed in the margins of the Council.

In December 2007, the European Council welcomed, in the framework of the
implementation of the a global approach to migration, the Commission
communication on circular migration and mobility partnerships. The European
Council stated that the mobility partnerships should be considered in those
cases where they bring added value, both to the EU and the third country, on the
management of migration flows and on the understanding that the willingness to
contribute to this partnership and to cooperate actively is the basis for the
opportunities offered by them.

Enhancing the global approach to migration -
Council conclusions

The conclusions can be found in 9604/08.

Development of the FADO system (False and
Authentic Documents Online) - Council conclusions

The conclusions can be found in 9665/08.

Management of external borders of the member
states of the EU - Council conclusions

The conclusions can be found in 9873/08.

Simplified regime for the control of persons
at the external borders

The Council adopted a decision introducing a simplified regime for the
control of persons at the external borders based on the unilateral recognition
by Bulgaria, Cyprus and Romania of certain documents as equivalent to their
national visas for the purposes of transit through their territories (PE-CONS
3607/08).

The decision is aimed at introducing a simplified regime for the control of
persons at the external borders of the EU in order to avoid imposing unjustified
administrative burdens on Bulgaria and Romania. Those burdens stem from the
enlargement of the EU in 2004 and in 2007 and from the implementation of the
Schengen aquis in the last acceding member states.

The proposed regime will be implemented on an optional basis: member states
concerned have the possibility either to implement the new instrument or to
continue issuing national visas as required by the Accession Treaties. If
Bulgaria, Cyprus and Romania decide to apply this decision, they will notify the
Commission thereof within 10 working days of the date of entry into force of the
decision. The Commission will publish that information in the Official Journal
of the EU.

The Council also adopted a decision amending decision 896/2006/EC enabling
Bulgaria and Romania to recognise certain residence permits issued by
Switzerland and Liechtenstein as equivalent to their transit visa (PE-CONS
3608/08).

DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION

EU/ACP Council of Ministers -
Preparation

The Council approved a draft agenda for the 33rd meeting of the ACP-EC
Council of Ministers which will take place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 12-13
June 2008.